A number of photos taken in 1965 at the Ohio Railway Museum were just posted on George Elwood's site at http://gelwood.railfan.net/new07-13nov.html (or go to http://gelwood.railfan.net and click on the most recent update section).

Anybody know the current condition of ORM's ex-C&LE Red Devil? I believe I remember reading that the cars were built from a mixed construction of aluminum and steel, and some had corrosion problems. Anybody care to elaborate?

When we produced our video, "Red Devils & the C&LE" in 1997, we contacted ORM to shoot some video of their Red Devil. They refused, saying that the car was under a tarp and had been damaged by a member who backed it into another car. That's why the car isn't in the video. If they had been willing to uncover it, they would have gained some publicity and we would have refrained from showing the damaged area. The show has been on public television in Ohio several times.
-Jim Herron, Herron Rail Video.

Well that might be true. I've seen photos of the car taken in 1980, and the paint was already badly weathered - I would be willing to bet that the roof isn't looking too great these days either under that tarp, although the car might be one of the better ones at ORM.

This car went to CRANDIC after the C&LE, and CRANDIC resheathed some (but not all) of their highspeeds with steel. Car 116 at Branford is an example of this, though car 120 (IR 65) at IRM retains its aluminum sides. The latter car has minor corrosion problems at the front and back, but overall the two metals seem to have been fairly well insulated from each other. I don't know whether ORM's car has steel or aluminum sides, but overall I would expect the roof to go before the sides on a car like this.

In case of confusion:
The high speed car at Illinois Rwy. Museum (CRandIC 120, IR 65?) and the one at Seashore Trolley Museum (Lehigh Valley Transit "Liberty Bell Rte." 1030, IR 55?) were not "Red Devils", since they came from the Indianna Railroad. The other Cedar Rapids & Iowa City and LVT high speed cars were the "Red Devils", since they did come from Cincinnati & Lake Erie Rwy.
None of the LVT ex-"Red Devils" survived, but most, if not all of the CRandIC cars did to some degree, since Scranton has 2 bodies.
Only the 2 re-sold IRR cars survived, the other 33 were scrapped or wrecked by 1941.

In case of confusion:
The high speed car at Illinois Rwy. Museum (CRandIC 120, IR 65?) and the one at Seashore Trolley Museum (Lehigh Valley Transit "Liberty Bell Rte." 1030, IR 55?) were not "Red Devils", since they came from the Indianna Railroad. The other Cedar Rapids & Iowa City and LVT high speed cars were the "Red Devils", since they did come from Cincinnati & Lake Erie Rwy.
None of the LVT ex-"Red Devils" survived, but most, if not all of the CRandIC cars did to some degree, since Scranton has 2 bodies.
Only the 2 re-sold IRR cars survived, the other 33 were scrapped or wrecked by 1941.

I believe Frank was illustrating the IRR car at IRM as an example. If I remember correctly, the IRR cars were entirely constructed of a higher degree of aluminum to minimize any problems with contact between two dissimilar metals.

The somewhat ironic fate is that IRR 55, the one sold to LVT ended up on Cincinnati Arch Bar trucks from a burned ex-C&LE unit.

What kind of roofs do the C&LE and IRR lightweights have? Is it canvas over wood, or some type of metal?

Both types of car have canvas-over-wood roofs. And the IR cars also had "lobster traps" at the front and rear, which is one part of the 65's restoration that hasn't been completed yet.

Lobster Traps? Please do explain. Does the 65 have a full set of destination signs? I'd like to see a "Louisville Dixie Flyer" on it one day.

I am sure Frank is referring to the wood slatted roof mats on the curved ends of the cars. These were primarily to protect the canvas from damage should a pole be violently 'retrieved'; but also, at least in some cases such as the North Shore, they were part of the proscribed way for a crew man to climb up onto the roof when needed.

We are of course not located anywhere DOWN EAST but you have to admit they do resemble lobster traps, especially if not on the roof and laying in the shop.

Bob Kutella